Launching a franchise system is a decision not to be taken lightly. But thorough research, a strong leadership team and a commitment to franchisor franchisee relations can offer your concept a bright future.

By Christina (Tina) Bacon-Defrece, PH.D 

When you’ve reached a certain level of personal success in your career, you become armed with a set of tools and skills that can only be acquired through first-hand experience. These include strong communication, crisis management, and organization skills that become second nature in new business endeavors.

Many of us come to a point in our lives where we feel it’s time to move on from a certain job or industry in order to reach new heights for our own personal and professional development. The crossroads of a career transition can be daunting, but there is a “science” to making this transition as smooth as possible. This first step is figuring out what you want to do, or in some cases, what you’ve always wanted to do.

What’s wonderful about the franchising industry is that individuals from almost any background can create a new franchise concept or invest in a franchise and find success. The amount of support and resources available is virtually unlimited, and because of this, entrepreneurs can make a seamless transition. Like any other business model, its success is dependent on teamwork, relationship building and open communication lines. Before taking the leap into the franchising industry, reflect on where you’ve seen success so far in your career and how you’ll be able to transfer those accomplishments to your next business venture.

Transitioning Success to Franchising

Once you’ve decided that franchising your business concept or investing in a franchise is the right choice for you, hire some good consultants and do your research. Have a veteran from the industry point you toward the right literature to begin educating yourself on the ins-and-outs of the industry. It’s also highly beneficial to begin attending as many franchise expos and tradeshows as possible to not only familiarize yourself with other brands in the franchise space, but to begin meeting new friends, colleagues and leaders in the industry.

In addition to strategic research and expo mingling, the guidance of a mentor is invaluable. I was fortunate enough to have my business partner, Leeward Bean (CEO of Big Frog Custom T-Shirts & More), by my side for over 20 years, and his expertise in sales, people and business planning has helped me form the foundation of my own leadership style. No matter how positive your past business experience has been, the best way to understand the franchising industry is to learn from the experts.

If you don’t have a business partner or an experienced contact in franchising, find a leader in the space and listen to his interviews, read his books and attend expos and conferences where that individual is a keynote speaker. This first-hand insight and expertise can act as a “mentor” as you continue to engage with the industry and can help you avoid common mistakes of others who have made the same transition.

The one aspect of the franchise industry that many are not prepared for is the emotional side of this particular business model. The process of helping an individual get opened, trained and supported for success is a larger responsibility than some expect it to be. That said, once you’ve laid out your initial Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) and have emotionally prepared yourself for the unique relationship between a franchisor and franchisee, it’s time to discover your franchise’s individual recipe for success.

Finding the Right Formula

As a research engineer, I helped develop optical sensors for oxygen, pH (acidity), water quality, blood disease, and chemical warfare agents. I was fascinated by the science of it all and wanted to understand the manufacturing costs associated with the sensors, margins, marketing strategies and manufacturing requirements. The urge to understand all of these factors propelled me into valuing the business side of the science. I started writing business proposals, learning the accounting systems and even participating in photo shoots for our products. It seemed to be a natural evolution of wanting to pioneer my own company and have some form of control in all of these facets of the organization.

A business is just like any engineering project; there’s a process that needs to be designed, put together, assessed, then optimized to make it run efficiently. That’s what engineering is really about and what I was trained to do, and it translates surprisingly well to a business.

In franchising, for example, the model is comparable to a formula. A formula needs to be tweaked and tested multiple times until it gets as close as it can to perfection, and the same can be said about building a franchise model. Mistakes will undeniably be made along the way, but franchisors can rebuild their business plan as they go to smooth out the kinks until the franchise systems in place are as close to perfection as they can be. This includes reworking the franchise model’s marketing, training, franchisee support, distribution, construction, financial, and other assets until they sync naturally and effectively. This ideology has helped shape the Big Frog Custom T-Shirts & More franchise into the consistently growing system that it is today.

Journey From Lab Coat to Franchise President

While I worked as a research director for a multi-million-dollar scientific instrument company for five years, there was always an entrepreneurial spark in me that was waiting to be unleashed.

In switching gears from my role as research director to strategic planning and tactical developments for a national franchise, I was able to parlay my past experience into starting the Big Frog concept by servicing a large niche market that had previously gone unserved. This left plenty of room for innovation, which was key for creating a fun and friendly business.

The journey of creating Big Frog Custom T-Shirts & More was largely shaped by two main factors: the demand in the customized apparel space and the blend of three different minds coming together to find the formula that worked to appropriately service this demand. Since launching in 2008, we’ve learned that a large part of our success has stemmed from the achievements of our franchisees, who have blown our initial projected numbers out of the water. When you arm your franchise system with the right tools and freedom to grow individually, amazing things can happen! 

Regardless of your background, setting up a franchise system is a decision that should not be made lightly. However, when you do your research thoroughly, assemble a strong leadership team and embrace the franchisor-franchisee relationship, you’ve positioned your concept for a bright future. “Engineer” a franchise model that’s tailored to your concept’s needs and perfect the formula along the way.

Christina (Tina) Bacon- DeFrece, Ph.D., is president of Big Frog Custom T-Shirts & More. Find her at fransocial. franchise.org.

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